Drawer-locking mechanism for trunks



F- W. MEYER.

DRAWER LOCKING MECHANISM FOR TRUNKS. APPLICATION, FILED SEPT. 14, 1918.

1,374,383. Patented Apr. 12, 1921.

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F. W. MEYER.

DRAWER LOCKING MECHANISM FOR TRUNKS.

I APPLICATION FILED SEPT- 4, 1918. 1,374,383a Patented Apr. 12, 1921.

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DRAWER LOCKING MECHANISM FOR TRUNKS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 14. I918.

1374 888, Patented Apr. 12, 1921.

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PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK W. MEYER, OFOSHKOSH, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO THE OSHKOSH TRUNK CUMPANY, 0F OSI'IKOSH, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

DRAWER-LOCKING MECHANI$M FOR TRUNKS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 12, 1921.

Application filed September M, 1918. Serial No. 254,027.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK W. MEYER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oshkosh, in the county of Winnebago and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Drawer-Locking Mechanism for Trunks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a drawer locking mechanism for trunks whereb a tier of drawers in the drawer section 0 a wardrobe or like trunk may be locked and unlocked simultaneously through the manipulation of a single element of such mechanism, accessible from the outside of said drawer section when the trunk is open. p

Among the objects of my invention is to improve the construction of a drawer locking mechanism of the kind referred to, in the several particulars as will hereinafter more fully appear, and to provide in particular a drawer locking mechanism which may be operated by the same key which is used to unlock the lock on the outside of the trunk. A further object of my invention is to provide an improved form of locking member on the invertible drawer of the hat drawer construction, so as to avoid the use of any supplemental parts on the locking bar for the invertible drawer.

The invention consists further in the matters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of a wardrobe trunk, and showing the two hinged together upright sections thereof unlocked and swung apart into open position, with the drawer section of said trunk equipped with a drawer locking mechanism embodying the features of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken through the drawer section of said trunk on line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view, with parts in elevation, taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view, with parts in elevation, taken through the part of the trunk in which the key operable lock of my drawer locking mechanism is located;

Fig. 5 is a rear elevational view of said lock, the same being shown removed from the trunk for the purposes of illustration;

Fig. 6 is a view of that end of the actuating rod which connects with the rotatably mounted cylinder shown in Figs. 4 and 5;

Fig. 7 is a rear elevational view of the tier of drawers in the drawer section of the trunk, some of the associated parts of the trunk construction being omitted for the sake of clearness of illustration;

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 9 is aperspective view of the rear end portion of said actuating rod, and illus-- trating the associated parts disassembled but in position to be engaged with each other in their proper order;

Figs. 10 and 11 are perspective views, respectively, of the locking members provided on the rear walls of the drawers; and

Fig. 12 is a side elevational view of the key used to unlock the lock on the outside of the trunk as well as to actuate the drawer locking mechanism of my invention.

The trunk 1, shown in the drawings, is of the wardrobe type and comprising two hinged together, upright sections 2 and 3, the former being the wardrobe section and the latter the drawer section of said trunk. Among the customary appurtenances located in the wardrobe section 2 is a pair of extensible trolleys i, 4, upon which are hung the garment hangers 4 as shown in Fig. 2. When the sections 2 and 3 are swung together into closed position,theymay be locked together on the outside thereof by a lock 5 secured to the section 2 and having a hinged hasp 6 adapted to be swung into and out of locking engagement with a socketed type of keeper 7 provided on the outside of the section 3, as shown in Fig. 1. Said trunk 1 is equipped with that type of trunk locking mechanism as shown in Reissue Letters Patout No. 14,143, granted to me on May 80th, 1916, and in such construction the lock 5 forms the outside member thereof and by means of which the inside locking members are actuated. It is to be understood, however, that I may use a trunk lock of any other type without departing from the spirit and scope of my present invention, it being preferable, however, that the same key which is used for unlocking the outside trunk lock may also be used for actuating the drawer locking mechanism of my present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the hasp -6 is provided at its swinging end with a key operable look, preferably of the type having a rotatably mounted cyllnder or like part 8 adapted to be rotated into unlocked position by a key 9 (Fig. 12) when the latter is inserted 111 the key-hole provided 1n said cylinder.

The drawer section 3 has two upright side walls 10, 10, a bottom wall 11, a top wall 121, and an upright back or rear wall 13, all 0 which are connected together and form a compartment to receive a tier of drawers 14 to 18, inclusive. Said drawers are mounted in said section 3 so that they may be readily moved into open and closed posltlons when unlocked and the trunk open. In the trunk illustrated, said drawers are slidably mounted one above the other and with the uppermost drawer 14 resting on a horizontally arranged, fiat, partition wall 19 secured in said drawer section. As shown in Fig. 2

the drawer 16 rests on a like partition wall 20, also secured in said drawer section. The 'drawers 15 and 17 each rest and slide on L-shaped metal strips 21, 21 secured to the side walls 10, 10 for that purpose. The bottom drawer 18 rests on the bottom wall 11 of the drawer section 3.

For simultaneously locking and unlocking all of the drawers 14 to 18, inclusive, through the manual manipulation of one of the elements of a drawer locking mechanism, I provide the following construction. Located in the drawer section 3 and to the rear of the drawers is a locking bar 22 vertically arranged and extending substantially the full height of said drawer section 3. Said bar 22 is made flat and relatively narrow, and has a length to extend across the rear walls 14 to 18, inclusive, of said drawers, as shown in Figs. 2 and 8. The upper end of said bar 22 is connected by a pivot pin 23 with the outer or swinging end of a link 24, while the lower end of said bar 22 is connected by a pivot pin 25 with the like end of a link 26. Said link 26 is connected by a pivot pin 27 with the rear wall 13 of said section 3. Secured to said rear wall 13 at the upper end of said bar 22 is a fiat plate 28 provided between its ends with an outwardly opening circular hole or socket 29 (Figs. 2 and 9). Extending outward from the rear wall 13 and above the uppermost drawer 14 is an actuating rod 30. Said rod 30 passes loosely through a hole 31 at one end of said link 24, and the inner end of said rod 30 is rotatably received in the socket 29 in said plate 28. Said link 24 being loosely mounted on said rod 30, it follows that the latter may be rotated relatively to said link. Said links 24, 26 support said bar 22 and enable the same to be moved endwise and laterally when moved into and out of locking position. The opposite or outer end of said rod 30 is secured to the cylinder 32 of a tumbler type of lock 33, re-

tained in a front wall 34 extending between l .the side walls 10, 10 of the drawer section a partition wall. 36 between said rod and the top of said drawer 14. For connecting the rod 30 with the uppermost link 24 so that movement may be imparted from said rod to the bar 22 for locking and unlocking all of the drawers 14 to 18 simultaneously, the rod 30 is provided with a radially projecting pin 37 adapted in the rotation of said rod 30 to be brought into contact with a lug 38 made rigid with and extending outward from one side of said link 24, as shown in Figs. 2, 8, and 9. The lug 38 being in the path of movement of said pin 37, it follows that when the rod 30 is rotated in one direction, the link 24 will be swung upward to raise the bar 22, and when rotated in the opposite direction will strike the lug on the other side thereof and swing the link 24 and the bar 22 downward for locking the drawers. Each drawer 14, 15, 16, and 18 is provided on its rear wall with a rearwardly extending locking member 39, which is made from a strip of sheet metal bent to have the shape as shown in Fig. 10. As shown, said locking member 39 has a flat body portion 40 adapted to be secured flatwise against the back or rear wall of the drawer and an outwardly offset portion 41 forming a hook to engage over the bar 22 from one side thereof when the latter is moved into locking position, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 8.

The drawer 17 is provided with a bottom wall 42 connected by a hinge strip 43 with the inside face of the rear wall 1 drawer, as shown in Fig. 2. When the drawer 17 is in the inverted position shown in said figure, the bottom wall 42 extends downward in the drawer 18 along the rear walls of said drawers, and is detachably received in sockets formed by members 44 secured to the side walls of said drawer 18. This connects the drawers 17 and 18 together at the rear, while a padded hat retainer 45 connects said drawers together at their front walls, there being loop shaped members 46, 46 secured to said drawers on the inside thereof and engaged by a metal strap 47 on the back of said hat holder 45. When the hat holder 45 is removed, the drawer 17 may be inverted so that the hinged wall 42 will drop into a position resting on the stop strip 48 and form the bottom wall of said drawer, whereupon the drawers 17 and 18 are disa of said connected and may be used as separate drawers. Such invertible drawer construction forms the subject-matter of my prior Patent No. 1,121,933, granted December 22nd, 1914, and has only been illustrated herein in order to show the particular type of locking member 19 which 1 use with my improved drawer locking mechanism herein shown and described. As best shown in Fig. 11, said locking member 19 is made from a fiat piece of metal and has a body portion 50 adapted to be inserted through the rear wall 17 of said invertible drawer 17. Said body portion 50 has prongs 51, 51 designed to project slightly into the inside of said drawer 17 and there to be upset for securin said locking member 49 to said invertible iawer 17. At the opposite end of said member 49 are two lugs 52, 52 extending at right angles to said body portion and projecting laterally therefrom on opposite sides thereof. By this arrangement, it follows that one of said lugs 52 always is in a position to extend over said bar 22 from one side thereof in either of the two positions of said drawer 17, as shown by noting Figs. 7 and 8. It is by reason of such member 4C9 that the bar 22 need not be provided with any supplemental locking parts to engage said member in either of the two positions of said invertible drawer 17.

As clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3, eagh partition wall 19, 20 is provided in its rear edge with a cut out portion 53, through which said bar 22 extends. Secured to each partition wall 19, 20 and extendingover the recess 53 therein is a metal plate 5% provided with an elongated slot 55 having a lengthsufiicient to permit the bar 22 to be moved from looking to unlocking position. Said bar 22 may contact with one end of said slot 55 when moved into locking position, so as to prevent said bar from striking the looking members 39, 49 on the drawers, although any other type of stop member may be provided for that purpose. provided on its front wall with a handle 56.

Assume that the trunk 1 is closed and locked and that the drawers 14: to 18 are all locked by my. improved drawer lockin mechanism: The outside lock 5 is unlocked by the key 9 and the trunk opened by swinging or moving the sections 2 and 3 apart. Then the same key 9 is inserted into the keyhole in the cylinder 32 of the drawer lock 33. The key 9 is then turned to rotate the rod 30 in a direction to cause its pin 37 to be brought into contact with the under side of the lug 38, as shown in Fig. 8, whereupon a' continued rotation of the key will swing the link 24 upward from the position shown in dotted lines in said Fi 8 to the position shown in full lines in said figure, with the result that the bar 22 will be raised and swung obliquely outward from behind the Each drawer is locking members 39 and 49 at the rear of the drawers 1 1 to 18, as shown in said F i 8. When the parts have been moved to sue positions, all of the drawers are simultaneously unlocked and either one or all may be opened and closed as desired. To look the drawers simultaneously,'the drawers are all closed, whereupon the same key 9 is engaged with the cylinder 32 and turned in the opposits direction, thereby rotating the rod 30 until the pin 37 strikes the opposite or upper link at to be swung downward from the full line position shown in Fig. 8 to the dotted line position shown in the same figure, thereby causing the bar .22 to be moved obliquely downward to enside of the lug 38: A continued turning of said key 9 causes the gage behind the locking members 39 and 1,264,321, granted April 30th, 1918. The

fact that the link 24: is loosely mounted on the rod 30 permits rotation of the rod relatively to said link and thereby enables the pin and lug type of connection to be used between the rod and link, with the result that the leverage required to move the bar 22 upward is sufficient with the ordinary size of key that is used with the trunk lock 5. The downward movement of the bar is aided by gravity, and thus just suflicient leverage is required to start the bar 22 on its downward movement. Other and further advantages incident to my invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which my invention relates' In order to prevent the drawers from striking the bar 22, when said drawers are moved into fully closed position, I provide stopstrips 57 secured to the rear wall 13 at the back of said drawers, as shown in Fig. 3.

In the construction shown in the drawin s, the rod 30 is connected with the cylin er 32 by providing the inner end of the latter with a transverse slot 58 to receive a flattened integral lug or projection 59 on the adj aeent end of said rod, as shown in Figs. 4c, 5, and 6.

While I have shown and described herein one form of drawer locking mechanism constructed in accordance with my invention, it is of course understood that the various details of construction and arrangement of parts shown may be variousl changed and modified without departing om the spirit and scope of my invention, and I do not wish to-be limited to the details of construction and arrangement of parts shown, except as pointed out in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a trunk having a section containing drawers, a locking bar located to the rear of said drawers and adapted to be moved into and out of locking engagement with locking members on said drawers, a rotatable rod for moving said bar, and means includin a lost motion construction connecting said rod with said bar.

2. In a trunk having a section containing drawers, a locking bar located to the rear of said drawersand adapted to be moved into and out of locking engagement with looking members on said drawers, a rotatable rod for moving said bar, a key operable lock in said drawer section nd having a retatable member connected with said rod, and means including a lost motion construction connecting said rod with said bar whereby the latter may be moved in the turning of said rod by the key of said lock.

3. In a trunk having a section containing drawers, a locking bar located to the rear of said drawers and adapted to be moved endwise and laterally into and out of locking engagement with locklng members on said drawers, a rotatable rod for moving said bar, a link loosely mounted on said rod and having ivotal connection with said bar, and said ro having an outwardly projecting pin adapted tobe brought into contact with a lug on said link for moving said bar.

4. In a trunk having a section containing drawers, one above the other, a vertical locking bar to the rear of said drawers, a link at each end of said bar and pivotally connected therewith, the lower link being pivoted to the rear wall of saidtrunk section, a retatable rod located above the uppermost drawer and having the upper link loosely connected therewith, said rod being provided with an outwardly projecting pin adapted to be brought into contact with a lug on the upper link, and a key operable lock secured to a fixed art of the trunk section at the outer end 0 said rod and having a rotatable cylinder connected with said rod so that when a key is engaged with said cylinder the rod may be turned for moving said bar;

5. In a trunk having a section containing sliding drawers, one above the other, a looking bar located to the rear of said drawers and adapted to be moved into and'out of locking engagement with looking members secured to said drawers, one of sa1d drawers belng lnvertible and the locking member at the rear thereof being provided with twoparts extending in opposite directions 'so as to engage over said bar from one side thereof in either position of said drawer.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I affix my signature in the gresence of two witnesses, this 9th day of eptember, A. l). 1918.

BART -W. I-Isrss, W. E. Kmrrnrm. 

